Green in Cities goes Skywards, Citygreen issue 2

By Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, Singapore The Editorial Team

CITYGREEN, winner of the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence for three consecutive years - 2014, 2013 and 2012, is a biannual publication of the Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, Singapore. It presents current research on greening and ecology of the urban environment, and features outstanding projects in international cities.

In this issue, CITYGREEN features articles by prominent figures in the green roofs and vertical greening industries. In an exclusive interview with Dr. Patrick Blanc, an instrumental figure in popularising the concept of vertical gardens, he reveals the connection between his passions for rainforest understoreys and vertical greenery. Dr. Ken Yeang, an avid proponent of the bioclimatic design of skyscrapers, shares his ecological approach to building design in his project, Solaris. Landscape architect Andrew Grant shares his design concept behind Bay South of Gardens by the Bay, which will see SuperTrees clad in skins of vertical plants. Dr. Wong Nyuk Hien, our respected scientist from the National University of Singapore, talks about how vegetation can reduce the energy consumption of buildings.

Other articles explore the role of green roofs in enhancing biodiversity in urban settings. Lastly, Dr. Tan Puay Yok posits, in his commentary, that the disciplines of building and architecture can learn much from nature, to develop innovations that could bring about improvements to building performance and the ecology of cities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, Singapore The Editorial Team
• Release date: Aug 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9789810913021

Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, Singapore The Editorial Team

The Research branch of the Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, Singapore, engages in multidisciplinary research on the greening and ecology of cities. Through its key research programs on plants, ecology and social studies, it aims to enhance greenery planning, design and management in cities.

Book preview

A PRACTICAL APPROACH: INCENTIVES FOR SKYRISE GREENERY

Text by Vincent Cossé

Images as credited

Citi at 3 Changi Business Park Crescent. Award: Green Mark Platinum.

As a complement to research and publication, Singapore agencies promote green roofs and vertical greenery through a broad panel of incentives for new and existing buildings.¹

GREEN ROOF INCENTIVE SCHEME

The National Parks Board Singapore (NParks) has introduced the Green Roof Incentive Scheme to encourage owners of existing buildings to green their rooftops. The incentive takes the form of a cash grant equal to 50% of the actual installation costs, subject to a maximum of $75 per square-metre of planted area within the green roof installed.

NParks started giving out the cash incentives in September 2009 and the scheme will run for 3 years. Owners of all existing buildings with a minimum roof area of 300 square-metres for green roof installation are eligible to apply for the scheme.

LUSH: A LUSHER SINGAPORE

In 2009, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) consolidated existing, revised and new initiatives under LUSH (Landscaping For Urban Spaces And High-Rises) to promote skyrise greenery:

a Landscape Replacement Policy for Strategic Areas

As more land is taken up by buildings in areas of high density, this innovative policy encourages the replacement of greenery lost at building footprint with skyrise gardens and roof terraces on the first storey and the upper levels of the development. The new policy applies to all new developments and redevelopments within the Downtown Core (including Marina Bay), Kallang Riverside and Jurong Gateway.

b Outdoor Refreshment Area on Landscaped Roof Tops

URA offers a Gross Floor Area (GFA) incentive for existing buildings within key activity corridors in the Orchard and Downtown Core planning areas to promote rooftop greenery. The additional GFA can be used for outdoor refreshment areas on the rooftop level if owners provide rooftop landscaping for their developments.

c Gross Floor Area Exemption for Communal Sky Terraces

URA encourages higher quality sky terraces through a series of GFA exemptions to encourage the provision of more covered public spaces for communal use and enjoyment.

d Enhancing Planting around Landscaped Decks

The Landscape Deck Guideline allows car parks to be housed within a landscaped raised deck with communal facilities above, as an alternative to the increasing trend of building multi-storey car parks. The edges of the raised car park deck should be concealed by attractive landscaping.

Other existing initiatives include a panel of GFA measures, such as the Incentive for Balconies in Residential and Hotel Developments, Exemption for Communal Landscaped Area at 1st Storey and Exemption for Communal Planter boxes, and the Provision of Greenery within Green Buffer and Peripheral Planting Strip.

BCA GREEN MARK CERTIFICATION AND INCENTIVE SCHEME

Launched in January 2005 by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), the BCA Green Mark Scheme provides a meaningful differentiation of buildings in the construction industry and real estate market. It is a benchmarking scheme which incorporates internationally recognised best practices in environmental design and performance. The Green Mark rates the environmental friendliness of a building based on a point-scoring approach.

Several points in the scoring system are awarded for the installation of green roofs, rooftop gardens and vertical greening, depending on their potential environmental benefits. Provision is also allocated for recycling surface run-off from the vertical green walls and sky gardens.

To date, about 20% of the Green Mark certified projects have green rooftops and/or vertical greenery.

Sophia Residence Award: Green Mark platinum. (Photo courtesy of GuocoLand Group)

Courtyard of Goodwood Residences. (Photo courtesy of GuocoLand Group)

Live Mural

· Modular in Nature

CONSIS VGS shall be assembled from inter-connectable modular panels.

· Lightweight

The system is at 3 kg/m2 (system only) and 50 kg/m2 (when saturated and with vegetation at maturity) in weight that can be applied to non-structural walls.

· Easy Assemble, Install and Disassemble

· Low Maintenance, Easy Replaceable

Centralized irrigation controller and fertilization dosing units minimize maintenance. Individual replaceable planter pot enables immediate replacement of any single sick plant.

· Durable

Planter pots are of ABS plastic with longer life span than other greenery system.

CONSIS Vertical Greenery System (CONSIS VGS) is a leading product among green wall system with numbers of superior features. This patent protected system fully integrated with automatic irrigation, drainage and fertilization system. First showcased in 2007 at Singapore Garden Festival, CONSIS VGS has been implemented in numbers of project in Singapore and overseas.

Showflat at West Coast Crescent

Consis Engineering

Tian Jin Olympic Ave

· Flexibility to Integrate with Architectural